Drug distributors reach $26 billion opioid settlement agreement with states | TheHill

This epidemic was manufactured by an army of pharmaceutical executives and drug distributors.”Local governments will have 150 days to agree with the terms, though Stein said there's no real deadline for local jurisdictions.Counties, tribes and municipalities will also have to sign on to get a share of the settlement money."While no amount of money will ever be enough, this settlement will force these drug companies to pay a historic amount of money to bring much-needed treatment and recovery services" to the communities that participate in the settlement, Stein said in a statement.But the ultimate amount of money that gets paid out will depend on the number of states and communities that sign onto the settlement, leaving it up to attorneys general to sell the deal."We are not quite to the finish line yet, but we are making real progress," said Tennessee attorney general Herb Slatery (R).Joe Rice, an attorney at Motley Rice LLC and a co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told reporters that if "a critical mass of states" don't sign on, there won't be a settlement.